Priceless Maiden
by DunMessWithDBest96
Summary: Whats worth more to a vagrant pirate? A chest of jewels or a beautiful 15- year old girl? When Mugen confronts someone from his past which promises him riches but at the expense of Fuu. What will he do?


**Priceless Maiden**

**A/N My first Samurai Champloo fanfic. Just started watching it two weeks ago and I love it! One of my fav animes of all time. Hope you enjoy my story and please review it **

" I'm fucking starving," groaned Mugen as he trudged along the dusty road accompanied by Jin and Fuu.

" Please stop with the complaining because you are just repeating the obvious over and over again which applies to the three of us," said Jin irritably.

" Yeah, Mugen. Besides, we haven't had anything to eat in two days since leaving Nagasaki," said Fuu sighing as she rubbed her growling stomach.

" Hey, don't look at me if we can't find any odd jobs to get some cash," growled Mugen.

" There are bound to be some odd jobs somewhere in this quaint village. Besides, if we do not get some money here, chances are that we might die of starvation," said Jin darkly.

" There is no way we are going to die of starvation before finding the Sunflower Samurai," insisted Fuu.

" We are going to if none of these stingy bastards offer us a job or any tips," replied Mugen.

He villagers looked a bit weary and frightened at the trio as Mugen looked like a ruffian, Jin, a silent killer and Fuu, a seductress.

" Excuse me, but would you have any odd jobs available for the three of us to do so that we may earn some money?" asked Jin politely.

Nobody said anything but there were a lot of whispering and mumbling among the villagers.

" See? I told you so. These stingy assholes won't even want to lend us a hand by giving us some damn jobs which they can't even finish," sneered Mugen as he glared at the crowd of people in front of him.

An elderly man with grey hair came forward and bowed to the trio.

" Please forgive our hostility but we have been in fright and suspicion since the village is a constant looting place for pirates," whispered the elderly man.

" Did you say…Pirates?" asked Mugen, his eyes shining with interest and hatred.

" These pirates which you speak of….How often do they come and pillage the village?" asked Jin.

" Once a fortnight. They just pop out of nowhere and start going on a rampage, killing innocent people who refuse to give them anything and torching the wooden houses," said a young woman.

" Why would they do such a cruel thing? Well, they are pirates after all," said Fuu as she glanced at Jin and then at Mugen.

" Hey don't look at me as if I had anything to do with it," snarled Mugen as he continued walking though the village asking for money.

" Anyway, you three should leave because tonight the pirates will be coming to ransack our poor little village again," whimpered the old man and Fuu felt her heart ache for the villagers who were so petrified.

" Well mister, I suppose we could handle the problem and take care of them for you but we need a little reward or preferably food and lodging because we have been starving for the past week," said Jin.

The old man's eyes shone and he eagerly nodded and ushered Fuu and Jin into his humble cottage for some refreshments.

" Shouldn't we get Mugen to join us?" Fuu asked Jin but he just sniffed and sipped his green tea.

" Whether he wants to join us or continue looking for trouble is his business. We need to conserve and save our energy if we want to run the pirates out of town tonight," replied Jin calmly.

Mugen was walking through the village looking for things to steal or even any odd jobs available but to no avail.

" Damn those two idiots. Making me do all the asking and walking," grumble Mugen as his stomach started to growl and he winced as he felt a sharp pang of hunger in his stomach.

" I got to get me something to eat first before I start anything," Mugen said and knocked on the door of a very old and rustic cottage.

" Hey! Open up. Is anybody in there? Open the damn door you asshole!" yelled Mugen but there was no reply.

Mugen sighed and drew his sword and sliced the door into two. He was surprised to see the walls stained with streaks of dried blood and knives caked in dried blood.

" Geez, what the hell have these villagers been doing?" he thought to himself as he could still catch a whiff of rotting flesh in the cottage.

He spotted something shiny on the floor and he picked it up. It was a signet ring but the symbol was covered in dried blood so he could not make it out.

He used his fingernails to scrape away the residue and he studied the ring. A look of regret and anger was on his face and he kept the ring in his pocket.

" No bloody way….." he muttered as he walked back to where Jin and Fuu were enjoying their lunch.

" Hey Mugen, wait till you hear that we are able to get free lodging and food in this village after all," said Fuu excitedly.

" Huh? What kind of deal did you strike with the old geezer?" asked Mugen as he sat down and began tearing large chunks of beef.

" He'll put up with us while providing our three meals if we can get rid of the pirates that have been causing them so much harm," said Jin.

Mugen's eyes widened as he remembered the ring and he frowned at the food and sighed.

" Mugen? Something wrong?" asked Fuu concerned but Mugen just waved her away and stared at the ring.

" This ring….belongs to one of the most ruthless and vicious pirate groups ever known. I vaguely remember those bastards burning down my house and trying to kill me after I stole some of their loot," Mugen thought as he scratched his head in annoyance.

" Mugen seems to be agitated since we mentioned that deal earlier today," whispered Fuu to Jin.

Jin shook his head. " No. It is something more than that. He feels worried and scared by something that would happen if we did this," Jin said and his face darkened. " Just what is it which is making you jump, Mugen?" Jin thought.

As the sun set and nightfall approached, all the villagers hid in their cottages and locked their doors as they were preparing for the arrival of the pirates.

" Please be careful and I hope that my foolish act does not jeopardize your lives," said the old man sorrowfully but Fuu just smiled at him and ushered him back into his cottage where his wife and two kids were waiting for him.

" Where the hell are these pirates anyway? It is already eleven you know and I'm bored," complained Mugen.

" Patience is always a virtue. No sense in wasting all your energy being excited and brash. The enemy may be laying an ambush just as we speak," said Jin quietly as he placed his hand on the hilt of his katana.

" I hope these pirates aren't as vicious and blood-thirsty as the villagers claim them to be," shivered Fuu in fright.

" Well, tough luck then because they are," replied Mugen with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

" Shhhh. It seems that they have made port," said Jin as he drew his katana and looked around.

" Great. Those bastards should know better than to make me wait for their sorry asses," said Mugen and he drew his katana too.

" I can't hear anything guys," whispered Fuu as she looked around the pitch black surroundings.

A gunshot and some cheering was heard as some torches were lit. The pirates were advancing in one big group. They were armed and dangerous and ready to spill some more blood.

" You villagers better be prepared to hand over your valuables because we want to make it short and sweet. You hand it over and nobody gets killed. If you refuse, then I'm afraid we got to send you to hell," called out Blackbeard, the leader.

" Blackbeard, that son of a bitch," snarled Mugen and his eyes flared as he gripped his katana tighter.

" Stop. You pirates are not to come any closer starting from tonight. We are hired to nullify your threats and ensure that you never harm this village again," said Jin.

The pirates just chortled and Blackbeard spit on the ground. " What a bunch of dumbasses. Hey, four-eyes, just get the hell out of the way if you don't want to be killed," he said and Jin's eyes narrowed.

" That is one pretty little thing next to him," called out one and Fuu felt disgusted.

" Hey! Is that Mugen?" called out one of the pirates. Blackbeard's eyes widened and his mouth broke into a huge grin.

" Mugen, long time no see. Aren't you going to give me a hug?" Blackbeard said nastily.

" You're fucking crazy. No way in hell would I hug someone as stupid and sleazy as you," Mugen yelled back.

Blackbeard frowned but he just drew his sword and pointed the tip of the blade towards the trio. " Anyway, you three should know better than to mess with us. Do you know how many villages we have plundered and destroyed?" he challenged them.

" Sorry but the village is under our protection now," said Fuu angrily and the pirates started snickering.

" Well, enough chit chat. I'm guessing you three want to be sent to an early grave. Everyone, after you shred them to pieces, lets kill all the villagers and take their loot," Blackbeard roared and the pirates started charging towards the trio brandishing their weapons.

Mugen started killing the pirates mercilessly while Jin moved swiftly, killing the pirates without giving them any chance to retaliate.

" Come here missy, you don't to be afraid," leered two pirates to Fuu who was backing away from them.

" Crap. This is really bad," she thought and she clutched her small blade in her hand.

As they advanced on her, she held her breath and tried to slash the men but one of the pirates caught her hand.

" Sorry missy. Looks like you made a bad move," he said and Fuu gulped.

As the man was bringing his sword down on her, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.

She opened her eyes to see the pirate staring blankly at the night sky with Mugen's sword pierced through his heart.

" Mugen?" she asked. She gasped as she saw Mugen lying on the ground with a long cut on his left arm.

" Mugen! Are you alive? Answer me!" she yelled. " Of course I'm alive you dumbass. Don't think I'll die so easily," he said and he got up and pulled his sword out of the pirate.

" Once you're done talking maybe, you would like to continue our fight," said Jin as he continued hacking his way through dozens of pirates.

" You bet your ass I will," he grinned and continued his killing spree.

Fuu smiled at Mugen and she continued to fight with the pirates.

Blackbeard began to sweat as he saw that he was only left with two pirates from his platoon of one hundred.

" What the fuck? You three are insane! " he yelled and he backed away.

Jin and Mugen finished off the other two pirates easily and they looked triumphantly at him.

Blackbeard caught hold of Fuu and pointed a loaded pistol to her head. " One more move and her brains will be the only thing you'll be seeing," he shouted and Fuu tried to wriggle her way out but he knocked with the butt of his pistol.

" Damn you, you bloody cheater! Just like you did five years ago with my jewel chest!," Mugen raged.

Blackbeard pointed to the jewel chest lying next to him and he smirked. Mugen's eyes widened and he grinned.

" Sweet, man. You gonna give this back to me now?" Mugen asked hopefully and Blackbeard sniffed.

" A trade. The lovely maiden for the jewel chest. It should be an easy choice for you, Mugen," he called out.

Jin looked at Fuu's frightened face and then at Mugen's delightful and wistful expression. Jin just closed his eyes and sighed.

" Well, I'll choose the girl!" he said suddenly and he rushed head on to Blackbeard with his sword on one hand.

" Fool," Blackbeard muttered and he threw Fuu onto the ground and squeezed the trigger.

Fuu opened her eyes to see blood dripping from Blackbeard's mouth and his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Mugn coughed out some blood as a dark red stain was visible on the side of his stomach.

Jin and Fuu rushed over to help Mugen. " Mugen, you son of a bitch…I hope you die," Blackbeared wheezed and pressed a detonator which caused the jewel chest to explode into millions of fragments.

Mugen just gave a weak smile and passed out.

Three days later, the trio were allowed to spend a week at the old man's house because they had fulfilled their promise.

Mugen sat on the verandah of the cottage and stared at the ring and tossed it into the lake.

" Mugen…I want to talk to you about that night with the pirates," Fuu said and he turned around and looked at her.

" What for? I saved your sorry ass, that's all. No big deal," Mugen said casually but Fuu looked hurt and Mugen sighed and hopped off the verandah.

" Why didn't you choose the jewels instead of me? They were worth millions and millions of dollars while I'm just a nobody looking for some samurai," she said quietly.

" You really want to know? Truth is, I don't know why the hell I did that either!" he yelled in annoyance and Fuu's eyes began to brim with tears.

" I guess I'm not worth anything much huh?" she said sniffing and Mugen scratched his head.

" Relax, Mugen. I know you think that I'm a burden and the promise you made with me is nothing but bullshit. You hate hanging out with a girl with no sex appeal and is always annoying the heck out of you. I don't want to know why you chose me over the jewels anyway. The reason is probably selfish and idiotic," she said choking back tears.

Jin was watching the drama from inside the cottage but he did not intend to interfere at all. " Let those two lovebirds settle it," he thought.

Mugen placed his hand on her shoulder and sniffed in annoyance.

" You took the words right out of my mouth, Fuu. I chose you over the jewels because the jewels ain't going to be able to give me days of bad-ass adventures. Jewels also ain't going to be able to make me laugh with that Sunflower Samurai shit," Mugen smiled and he walked back into the cottage leaving Fuu surprised.

" Mugen, are you saying that you like me?" Fuu asked surprised. Mugen turned purple and he spun round and glared at her.

" You don't simply create people's thoughts for them you little bitch. All I just said was that I guess you worth a little more than those jewels," Mugen said and he stomped back inside.

Fuu smiled at Mugen while Jin nodded towards her. They both knew that Mugen was subtly telling Fuu that he would miss her and that she was priceless.

**A/N I hope you enjoyed the story. I just started watching the anime and I love it so much. Please read and review and I will be back with more Samurai Champloo fanfics. Peace out **


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